An alternative to the Grain Deal: The Ukrainian and Croatian foreign ministries agreed to use the ports of Croatia. Photo: the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine
On July 31, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlić Radman. They agreed, among other things, to use Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for shipping Ukrainian grain, according to the foreign ministry's press service.
"We agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for shipping Ukrainian grain. We will now be working to lay the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity. Every contribution to unlocking exports, every door opened, is a real, effective contribution to global food security. Thanks to Croatia for the constructive help," Dmytro Kuleba emphasized.
The ministers also discussed the preparation for the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine to be held in October in Zagreb. The Ukrainian foreign minister thanked Croatia for assuming global leadership in the effort to clear Ukraine of mines.
Kuleba also thanked Croatia for its military, humanitarian, and technical aid, as well as for accommodating 27,000 Ukrainians.
"The main topic of our negotiations today, as traditionally with other partners, was weapons. We discussed further support from Croatia, and I also thanked them for the assistance already provided. For obvious reasons, I will not share the details. I will only say that there are concrete agreements that will soon be implemented. I would like to specifically note that the aid provided by Croatia is very substantial, considering its share in the general military budget of this country," Dmytro Kuleba noted.
As we reported earlier, Russia declared on July 17 that it had terminated the Grain Deal, which lasted for two months.
The deal has enabled the safe exportation of around 30 million tons of grain since it was signed in July 2022. This helped lower global food prices, which surged to record highs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among the major destinations for Ukrainian grain are China and Spain.
The shipping of grain through the Black Sea was impeded by continual interruptions in the joint inspection of ships. The promptness of these inspections will be crucial to Ukraine's ability to sell the wheat harvested since July.
However, even after the deal was extended, Russia repeatedly violated it by deliberately delaying the inspection of ships sailing to Ukrainian seaports.
Ukraine can still resort to using Danube shipping as an alternative to the Grain Deal. During the first half of 2023, Danube ports located on the Ukrainian bank reloaded more than 14 tons of cargo. Ukrainian grain is also transported to Europe by rail.